WHAT’S BRUIN: Women’s Basketball News & Notes 12/15

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Overall Record: 8-0 (Home 4-0, Road 3-0, Neutral 1-0)

NWC Record: 2-0, 1st T (Home 0-0, Road 2-0)

HIGHLIGHTS:

* Coming Up: Bruins to Play a Pair in Hoop N Surf Classic in Hawai’i

* Recent Games: Bruins Go to 8-0 with Sweep of Non-NWC Home Games

* Roos Takes BAA Award, HM for NWC Weekly Honors for 2nd Time

* Polls: Bruins Remain No. 3 in Third D3hoops Rankings of 2011-12

* NCAA Stats: Bruins Prominent in 1st National Stats of the Season

* NWC Stats: Gordon, Munger Appear in 9 Stats Categories Collectively

* Career Lists: Munger, Gordon Aiming for Scoring, Steals Milestones

* Coming Up: Bruins to Play a Pair in Hoop N Surf Classic in Hawai’i

- Mon., Dec. 19, 8:00 pm PST – vs. Spalding University (4-3), Honolulu, Hawai’i

- Tue., Dec. 20, 2:00 pm PST – vs. Worcester State University (4-4), Honolulu, Hawai’i

NEWBERG, Ore. – Off to an 8-0 start, the third-ranked George Fox Bruins will try to keep their winning ways going in the Hoop n Surf Classic in Honolulu, Hawai’i, on Dec. 19-20, taking on Spalding University Monday at 8:00 p.m. Pacific time (6:00 p.m. in Hawai’i), and Worcester State College Tuesday at 2:00 p.m. Pacific time (12:00 noon in Hawai’i).

Both games were originally scheduled for 6:00 p.m. Pacific time (4:00 p.m. in Hawai’i, but due to one team dropping out and the availability of venues, several games had to be rescheduled.  The Bruins will now be playing at McKinley High School, 1039 South King St. in Honolulu.  The school is located northwest of downtown next to the Blaisdell Center and Arena.

Multimedia: There will be no multimedia coverage of the tournament from Hawai’i.

Spalding (4-3): The Lady Golden Eagles from Louisville, Ky., are NCAA Division III members of the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference ... Spalding has won its last two games, the latest a 72-49 win over St. Mary of the Woods on Dec. 13 as Melinda Leavell scored 15 points and Hannah Washle 12 off the bench ... Series record (since 1981): First meeting ... Spalding by the numbers: Scoring (58.0 ppg), Defense (56.1 ppg), FG% (.342), 3-pt FG% (.311), FT% (.583), Reb Avg. (41.4 rpg) ... The Lady Eagles have two double-figure scorers: F Kelly Harrod (14.3 ppg) and G Melinda Leavell (12.0 ppg) .... F Jessica Guy is the top rebounder (8.3 rpg) ... G Megan Davis is the assists leader (3.5 apg) ... Coach Charlie Just is in his 6th season at Spalding ... Spalding plays Worcester State in Honolulu on Sunday before meeting the Bruins ... Next game: Jan. 4 vs. Eureka, 6 p.m. EST

Worcester State (4-4): The Lancers from Worcester,Mass., are NCAA Division III members of the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference ... The Lancers have won three in a row after a 1-4 start, with a 72-49 win at Mt. Holyoke in their last game on Dec. 13 behind 17 points from Kaleigh Charette, 16 from Kara Rogers, and 12 from Meaghan Burns ... Series record (since 1981): George Fox leads 1-0 (1-0 home) ... The Bruins defeated the Lancers 64-40 in Newberg on Dec. 29, 2007 ... WSU by the numbers: Scoring (59.4 ppg), Defense (51.8 ppg), FG% (.358), 3-pt FG% (.284), FT% (.709), Reb Avg. (44.0 rpg) ... The Lancers have two players in double-figure scoring: G Kaleigh Charette (13.6 ppg), G Meaghan Burns (11.8 ppg) ... Charette is the top rebounder (8.9 rpg) ... G Cheyenne Jennings is the assists leader (3.4 apg) ... Coach Karen Tessmer is in her 17th season at WSU ... The Lancers play Spalding in Honolulu on Sunday before meeting the Bruins ... Next game: Jan. 5 at Western New England, 7 p.m. EST.

* Recent Games: Bruins Go to 8-0 with Sweep of Non-NWC Home Games

Dec. 9 - at George Fox 69, Colorado College 27

Jami Roos scored a game-high 20 points off the bench while the defense made 26 steals and forced 48 Colorado College turnovers as the Bruins overwhelmed the visiting Tigers 69-27 in a non-conference game Friday.  The Bruins scored the first six points of the game, built a 12-2 lead eight minutes in, and were never seriously threatened again.  Their largest lead of the first half was 38-14, the halftime score, and their largest lead of the game was 44 points at 68-24 with 6:41 to go. Roos hit three three-pointers and 9-10 from the line, and Keisha Gordon added 10 points.  Hannah Munger led the Bruins with seven rebounds.  Arianna Mohsenian, Kylee Parker, and Dacia Heckendorf passed out three assists apiece, Gordon and Breezy Rinehart-Young each made five steals, and Munger blocked three shots.

Dec. 10 - at George Fox 81, Chapman 47

Jami Roos scored 16 points and Hannah Munger posted a double-double that left her three points shy of 1,000 for her career as the Bruins raced past the visiting Panthers 81-47 in a non-conference game Saturday.  The Bruins led from start to finish, opening the game with a 7-0 run and extending their lead to 18 points at 28-10 with 9:27 in the half.  The margin continued to grow until it reached 28 points at 40-12 with 4:52, and eventually climbed to 36 points at 73-37 with 6:18 to go in the game.  Roos hit 5-6 field goals, including 4-5 on threes.  Munger’s fifth double-double of the season included 12 points and 11 rebounds, along with five blocked shots; she now has 997 career points.  Arianna Mohsenian added 11 points with a trio of treys.  Keisha Gordon passed out six assists and had five steals as the Bruins picked up 18 steals on the Panthers’ 24 turnovers.  The Bruins had 12 blocks in the game, one short of the school record. 

* Gordon Takes BAA Award, HM for NWC Honors for 2nd Straight Week

The Bruins’ leading scorer in both games against non-conference competition during the week, George Fox guard Jami Roos had two fine games that earned her the Bruin Athletic Association Women’s Athlete of the Week award for Dec. 5-11 for the second time and honorable mention for the Northwest Conference Women’s Basketball Student-Athlete of the Week honor for the second time.

Roos, a freshman from Salem, Ore., had 20 points on 4-11 field goals (3-8 on threes) and 9-10 free throws, with 4 steals in 15 minutes off the bench in a 69-27 win over Colorado College on Dec. 9.  She again came in as a sub in an 81-47 win over Chapman on Dec. 10, scoring 16 points on 5-6 field goals (4-5 on threes) and 2-2 on free throws, with 3 steals, a rebound and an assist.  For the week, she scored 36 points (18.0 ppg) on 9-17 field goals (.529), including 7-13 (.579) on threes, and 11-12 free throws (.917), with 7 steals (3.5 spg), a rebound and an assist.

In NWC stats, Roos ranks 2nd in free throw pct. (.857), 3rd in 3-pt field goals (18), 8th in 3-pt pct. (.383), 10th in steals (1.8,T), and 17th in scoring (11.8 ppg).  She was the BAA Athlete of the Week and NWC Student-Athlete of the Week for the first week of the season, Nov. 14-20.

The George Fox Athlete of the Week Award for both men and women is presented throughout the Bruin sports seasons by the Bruin Athletic Association, whose mission is to provide George Fox student-athletes with an outstanding athletic and academic experience and to strengthen the overall competitiveness of the Bruin athletics program. For more information about the organization or to become a member, visit the Bruin Athletic Association website.

2011-12 Bruin Athletic Association Women’s Athletes of the Week

Aug. 29-Sept. 4 - Patti Reeves (Volleyball)

Sept. 5-11 - Melanie Gaither (Soccer)

Sept. 12-18 - Kelsey Morrison (Golf)

Sept. 19-25 - Megan McGrew (Golf)

Sept. 26-Oct. 2 - Kate Freiheit (Cross Country)

Oct. 3-9 - Stephanie Kerr (Volleyball)

Oct. 10-16 - Courtney Hochstetler (Cross Country)

Oct. 17-23 - Megan McGrew (Golf)

Oct. 24-30 - Tiffany Burk (Volleyball)

Oct. 31-Nov. 6 - Patti Reeves (Volleyball)

Nov. 7-13 - Courtney Hochstetler (Cross Country)

Nov. 14-20 - Jami Roos (Basketball)

Nov. 21-27 - Keisha Gordon (Basketball)

Nov. 28-Dec. 4 - Keisha Gordon (Basketball)

Dec. 5-11 - Jami Roos (Basketball)

BRUIN BITS:

* 2011-12 Honors

Jami Roos

- Bruin Athletic Association Athlete of the Week - Nov. 14-20; Dec. 5-11

- Northwest Conference Student-Athlete of the Week - Nov. 14-20; (HM) Dec. 5-11

Keisha Gordon

- Bruin Athletic Association Athlete of the Week - Nov. 21-27; Nov. 28-Dec. 4

- Northwest Conference Student-Athlete of the Week - Nov. 21-27; (HM) Nov. 28-Dec. 4

- Posada Royale Thanksgiving Classic All-Tournament Team

Hannah Munger

- Posada Royale Thanksgiving Classic All-Tournament Team

* Polls: Bruins Remain No. 3 in Third D3hoops Rankings of 2011-12

With two non-conference wins last week to run their record to 8-0, the George Fox Bruins maintained their No. 3 ranking in the third in-season NCAA Division III national poll of Dec. 13 by D3hoops.com. After receiving one vote for first and 578 points last week, the Bruins this week again got one vote for first and 579 points.  The top three teams all held their places as defending national champion Amherst College (7-0) was first with 21 firsts and 619 points, followed by the University of Chicago (6-0) with three firsts and 597 points. Fellow Northwest Conference member Lewis & Clark College (8-0) moved up from 15th to 13th with 307 points.

In the USA Today / ESPN / Women’s Basketball Coaches Association pre-season poll, the Bruins received 156 points. Amherst was first with four votes for the top spot and 172 points, followed narrowly by Chicago with three firsts and 171 points. The first WBCA in-season poll is not due out until after the holidays.

USAToday/ESPN/WBCA poll: http://www.wbca.org/news/top-25-polls/usa-today-espn-division-iii-top-25-coaches-poll/

D3hoops.com poll: http://www.d3hoops.com/top25/index

* Bruins Aiming for 19th Consecutive Winning Season

Under first-year coach Michael Meek, the 2010-11 Bruins finished 25-6, their 18th straight winning season, and will be out to make it 19 in a row in 2011-12. The Bruins’ string began in 1993-94 in their first year under Sherri Murrell, now the women’s basketball coach at Portland State. Following three winning seasons with Murrell, the Bruins added 14 more winning seasons under Scott Rueck, who left in the summer of 2010 for the women’s basketball position at his alma mater, Oregon State. George Fox went 364-127 (.738) during that 18-year span from 1993-2011.

* Bruins Take Home Streaks of 41 in a Row vs. NWC into New Season

Entering the 2011-12 season, the Bruins have a home court winning streak against Northwest Conference opponents in all games, including post-season NWC and NCAA Division III Tournament games, of 41 in a row at the Wheeler Sports Center’s Miller Gym. The last time the Bruins lost at home to a conference team was 51-48 to Puget Sound in the second round of the NCAA Tournament on March 3, 2007. The Bruins have also won 41 straight regular season-only games vs. the NWC in Newberg since a 55-51 setback to Linfield on Nov. 28, 2006. 

NWC Poll: Bruins Favored to Win 6th Straight League Title

After winning or sharing each of the last five Northwest Conference championships, and with five starters returning, it is perhaps little wonder that the George Fox Bruins are favored to win their sixth straight NWC title as predicted in a pre-season poll of the league’s nine coaches The Bruins picked up seven of nine first-place votes and tallied 70 of 72 possible points in the poll. Lewis & Clark, which shared last year’s regular-season conference crown with George Fox, was second in the poll with 59 points and picked up the other two first-place votes.

(First-place votes in parenthesis. Points awarded on 9-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis).

* NCAA Stats: Bruins Prominent in 1st National Stats of the Season

- In the first NCAA Division III national statistics thru games of Dec. 11, George Fox ranked 1st in won-lost pct. (1.000, tied with 20 others), 15th in scoring margin (+19.9), 16th in field goal pct. (.451), 19th in rebound margin (+10.6), 27th in steals (14.1 spg), 39th in scoring 72.8 ppg) ...

- Keisha Gordon is 4th in field goal pct. (.618), 30th in steals (3.6 spg) ...

- Hannah Munger is 5th in field goal pct. (.615), 6th in blocked shots (4.3 bspg), 11th in double-doubles (5) ...

* NWC Stats: Gordon, Munger Appear in 9 Stats Categories Collectively

- Thru NWC stats of Dec. 14, George Fox is 1st in blocked shots (6.4 bspg), 2nd in field goal pct. (.451), 3-pt field goal pct. (.336), steals (14.1 spg), 3rd in scoring (72.8 ppg), assists (15.0 apg), 3-pt field goals (49), 6th in rebounding (41.5 rpg), 9th in free throw pct. (.615), fewest turnovers (21.4 topg) ...

- Keisha Gordon is 1st in steals (3.6 spg), 2nd in field goal pct. (.618), 8th in scoring (13.9 ppg), 9th in 3-pt pct. (.381), 10th in rebounding (6.5 rpg) …

- Hannah Munger is 1st in blocked shots (4.2 bspg), 2nd in rebounding (10.4 rpg), 3rd in field goal pct. (.615), 7th in scoring (14.1 ppg) …

- Arianna Mohsenian is 5th in 3-pt field goals (14), 6th in 3-pt pct. (.412), 10th in steals (1.8,T), 26th in scoring (8.0 ppg, T) ...

- Jami Roos is 2nd in free throw pct. (.857), 3rd in 3-pt field goals (18), 8th in 3-pt pct. (.383), 10th in steals (1.8,T), 17th in scoring (11.8 ppg) ...

- Breezy Rinehart-Young is 5th in blocked shots (1.0 bspg) ...

- Carrie Myers is 13th in rebounding (5.8 rpg, T) ...

* Double-Doubles

- Hannah Munger: season 5, career 30 - 10 pts, 10 reb vs. Corban, 11/15; 14 pts, 18 reb vs. Northwest (Wash.), 11/19; 24 pts, 13 reb vs. Chapman at Thousand Oaks, Calif., 11/26; 19 pts, 10 reb at Whitworth, 12/3; 12 pts, 11 reb vs. Chapman, 12/10

- Keisha Gordon: season 2, career 9 - 12 pts, 12 reb vs. Northwest (Wash.), 11/19; 21 pts, 10 reb at California Lutheran, 11/27

- Megan Arnoldy: season 0, career 1

* Career Lists: Munger, Gordon Aiming for Scoring, Steals Milestones

- Keisha Gordon: With 17 points in the last two games, Gordon raised her career points total to 1,395, 4th on the all-time list. Ahead is former NAIA All-American Nancy Rissmiller (1,403, 1994-98).  She needs 235 more points to surpass Melody Groeneveld-McMaster (1,629, 1981-85) for first on the list … With a 4-7 week at the free throw line last week, her career free throw pct. is .772 (304-394), 7th-best all-time ... With 8 rebounds in the last two games, she has 596 in her career, 10th on the all-time list. Ahead is Angela Pettit (613, 1993-97) ... She had 10 steals in the last two games, giving her 236 in her career, tied for 2nd all-time with Becky Thompson (236, 1998-2002).  No. 1 is Linda Funderhide (243, 1987-91) ... She had 6 assists in the last two games, giving her 259 in her career and passing Roxy Cate (254, 1979-82) and Amy Fitch (258, 2000-04) for 7th all-time.  Ahead are Tiffany Behary (271, 2004-08) and B.B. Gardner (279, 2006-10) ...

- Hanna Munger: With 18 points in the last two games, Munger has 997 for her career and needs 3 more to become the 13th player in Bruin history to reach 1,000 for her career.  Ahead on the 1,000-point list are Traci Nelson (1,001, 1988-92) and Robin Taylor (1,006, 2002-05) ... With 8 blocked shots in the last two games, she has 234 career blocked shots, 2nd on the all-time list. No. 1 is Tammy Lewis (287, 1985-89) ... After going 7-12 from the field in the last two games, she has a career field goal pct. of .562 (414-737), 2nd to Kristen Shielee (.599, 223-372, 2005-09) ... With 18 rebounds in the last two games, she has 649 in her career, 8th on the all-time list. Ahead are Liz Clark (743, 2001-05), Katy Campbell (747, 2004-08), and Susie Davis (753, 1983-87) …

- Breezy Rinehart-Young: With 2 blocked shots in the last two games, Rinehart-Young has 76 career blocks, tying Kristy Fleming (76, 1992-94) for 8th on the all-time list.  Ahead are Angela Pettit (85, 1993-97) and Darby Cave (92, 2000-04) ...

* Head Coach Michael Meek

Head coach Michael Meek (Eastern Oregon ‘99) is 33-6 (.846, 16-0 home, 12-3 road, 5-3 neutral) to date in his second season at George Fox. Prior to joining the Bruins, he composed a record of 264-79 (.769) in 13 years of high school coaching in Oregon, three at La Grande (1997-2000) and 10 at Beaverton Southridge (2000-10). He led Southridge to five large-school state championships in his last six years, received 12 league or state Coach of the Year awards during his career, and was the 2006 MaxPrep National Girls’ Basketball Coach of the Year ...

Meek vs. upcoming opponents: 0-0 vs. Spalding; 0-0 vs. Worcester State